The ruling UPA and the principal Opposition party BJP on Thursday reached a broad consensus on the land Bill, which aims to provide clarity and uniformity in acquiring land for public purpose, including industrial and infrastructure projects. With the government agreeing to the BJP?s proposal that farmers whose land has been purchased after September 5, 2011, be given 50% of the compensation proposed in the Bill, the way is now clear for the Bill,
vetted by a parliamentary standing committee, to be introduced in the current session of Parliament.
After meeting UPA managers, Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said her party would now support the Bill while parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said the business advisory panels of both Houses would decide on the date and time to introduce the Bill. The government aims to get the Bill passed in the Budget session of Parliament which reopens after a month-long recess on Monday.
As per the Bill, which seeks to replace the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and become the benchmark for states, consent of 80% land owners is mandatory. The government will acquire land for larger projects while industry can purchase land subject to an upper limit of 100 acres in rural areas and 50 acres in urban localities.
The resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) norms will include payment of four times the market value of land in rural areas and two times in urban areas.
Industry is keen to get the Bill passed as several large infrastructure projects are stuck due to problems in land acquisition, at a time when the economy has slowed down and investments are languishing. But the process outlined in the Bill ? like consent of 80% of land owners ? are considered to be rather tough and apex industry chambers have voiced their concerns over this. Yet, a central law giving clarity on land acquisition would still be welcome.
Sources said Swaraj also suggested that instead of acquisition, the land could be leased to developers so that its ownership will remain with the farmers and would provide them with regular annual income. The proposal is to amend the Bill to provide for an enabling provision for states to enact laws in this regard as land leasing is a state subject.
Swaraj said the land mafia was in a buying spree after the Bill was introduced in September 2011, so that they can reap benefits after it is passed. If it happens, the farmers who have sold land at a lower price will not benefit, she said and proposed that 50% of the proposed compensation be made available to these farmers as well.
Meanwhile, the Left parties and DMK expressed reservations, with the CPI(M) demanding consent of all affected families due to the acquisition of land. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has been reaching out to leaders of various political parties to sort out areas of disagreement.
Last September, the Cabinet had cleared the land acquisition Bill, which stipulated that compensation to the farmer or land owners would be four times the market values while the earlier version of the Bill proposed six times of the market value as demanded by the National Advisory Council.